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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938801">where the sun meets the sea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonesdepapel/pseuds/dragonesdepapel'>dragonesdepapel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Beach, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Beach Holidays, F/F, First Dates, First Meetings, Getting Together, Summer Vacation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 03:46:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,321</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28938801</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonesdepapel/pseuds/dragonesdepapel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>“There’s a really pretty woman outside, and she caught me looking at her because SOMEONE wouldn’t stop teasing me about it, and then I might have awkwardly waved my hand at her.” </em>
</p><p><em>“That’s not great, you don’t know how to wave.”</em><br/> </p><p>It's time for the best friends squad's annual trip to the beach! It should be completely uneventful, a time to relax. It's not like anyone is going to meet the love of their life while wearing the worst clothes they own, right?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>159</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Fun fact: this is titled cake by the ocean in my docs because torta (cake) is slang for lesbian in my country, and I think I'm hilarious.</p><p>Another fun fact: when I hit post I did not realize that my brain had spelled meat instead of meet on the title and I almost DIED. @ ao3 gods please tell me no one saw that.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The plan was simple. They’d leave on Friday morning to avoid the flood of cars that would surely head for the beach over the weekend. An easy solution. </p><p>The plan fell apart before it even began. There had been an emergency at Adora’s job, and Light Hope had asked her to come in on Friday after all. It wasn’t that serious. Bow got a little anxious about traveling at night, but he preferred it over dealing with traffic jams. It wasn’t ideal, but it was still doable. It was a short trip anyway. </p><p>The car ride to Mystacor Beach was four hours. Maybe five, considering they were leaving on a Friday night. It was going to be fine. </p><p>If only she’d known. </p><p>“I’m telling you guys, if we don’t stop soon my bladder’s gonna explode.” </p><p>“Glim, we’ve only just made it to the highway. We have been on the car for less than thirty minutes.” </p><p>“I forgot to go before we left, ok? There, I admit it, I committed the worst car trip sin.” </p><p>Adora perked up at that. “You forgot to go?” </p><p>Glimmer puffed and crossed her arms. “I was busy making sure we didn’t forget someone’s MANY bags.” </p><p>Adora’s cheeks heated up. There was quite a bit of her bags. She hadn’t even brought that much stuff! But she tended to overpack when she was anxious, and she kept thinking she was done, only to then come up with something else she <em>might</em> need. The worst part was, and she knew this, that when she got like that, she was more likely to forget actually important things like her phone, or bathing suits, or shoes. She sighed. There was no point in worrying about that now. </p><p>“I’m serious guys, I really need to go,” Glimmer insisted. </p><p>“The next gas station is ten minutes away. Think you can manage not to explode till then?” </p><p>Glimmer didn’t answer, choosing instead to shift uncomfortably in her seat to direct her gaze to the window. </p><p>When they got there, she rushed out of the car, almost trampling a group that had just arrived too. </p><p>Bow sighed. “Let’s stretch our legs, shall we?” </p><p>Adora followed him out the car, but she really would have rather stayed inside. She had the inkling this ride would get long, however, so it was probably better for her to take his advice. </p><p>Bow was leaning on the driver’s door, looking at the direction Glimmer had disappeared into. He looked tired. </p><p>“You ok?” Adora asked. </p><p>“Yeah, sure.” </p><p>“If you’re worried about the roads at night, we’re still in time to turn around.” </p><p>“No,” he said, waving her concerns away. “It’s not that. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” </p><p>She chose to ignore that his words had clearly implied that there was, in fact, something bothering him. Bow was usually the most well-adjusted of them. She could trust him to open up when he was ready. </p><p>After pushing away her doubts for his friend’s wellbeing, all she found was exhaustion. She had clocked in at six that morning, and hadn’t left until past seven pm. Then she had hurried home and had barely had time to change into a comfy outfit before Bow had picked them up. At least most of her bags had already been prepared. </p><p>They had parked right in front of the station’s store and she eyed it, wondering if maybe she should go inside, just to have something to do. But she didn’t need anything from it, they were already stocked up in candy and sodas, and if the others had to go find her after Glimmer got back, that would only delay them further. </p><p>A yawn threatened to split her face in two, and she searched for something to keep her awake. That was when she saw her. </p><p>Brown, curly hair. Ripped jeans. Red t-shirt. The most gorgeous face Adora had ever seen. The woman was standing just a few feet away from them, typing idly at her phone. Adora’s breath caught in her throat, that was how beautiful this woman was. </p><p>“I’m so gay,” she whispered to herself. </p><p>Next to her, Bow chuckled, startling her. “Where?” he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer as Adora was still noticeably fixated on the sight of her. “Oh, ok, yeah, she’s hot.” </p><p>Adora refused to feel embarrassed about this. She was sleep deprived. She had had a very long day that was just a culmination of a long week in a long month in the middle of a long year. </p><p>“She’s not really your type though , is she?” he continued. </p><p>Adora snorted. “I have a type?” </p><p>“You usually go for... sturdier women.” </p><p>“Oh please, when will you guys let that one go? I did NOT have a crush on Huntara. I just thought that, you know, she was very strong, and stuff.” </p><p>“Mhm.” </p><p>Dropping it was the best course of action, she never got anyone in her corner for this issue </p><p>“Anyway, firstly, no I don’t have a type. I do, however, spend a lot of time working out, and in turn meet a lot of people who work out too.” Bow was clearly biting his lip to stop himself from laughing, but Adora carried on. “And second, she’s clearly built like a goddamn gymnast,” she added, appreciating the woman’s lithe legs. </p><p>That seemed to break him and he bent over, grabbing his stomach as he laughed. “So,” he wheezed out, “so-” he tried again, but couldn’t stop laughing long enough to get the words out. “So you <em>don’t</em> have a thing for strong women, but you still think it’s worth pointing out that she probably has a strong body?” </p><p>“That’s not-!” she started to protest, but froze in place. </p><p>The woman had turned to look at them, probably attracted by the sound of Bow’s booming laughter. Their gazes met, and there was really no way to hide that Adora had been looking right at her for at least some time. She arched a (beautiful, perfect) eyebrow and Adora hurried to duck her head. </p><p>Bow, of course, had noticed the whole interaction and it had only served to fuel his cackles. </p><p>“I’m gonna kill you,” she whispered, still firmly looking at the floor. </p><p>He didn’t reply, and she ventured another peek across the parking area. The woman was still looking, and a smirk had taken over face. That was good, right? A smirk was a smile, kinda, and smiles were a good thing. And that’s when Adora made her second mistake of the night. She raised her hand. She raised her hand to wave at the stranger in the gas station. </p><p>Before she could process exactly how dumb and awkward she must have looked, two things happened in abrupt succession: Glimmer loudly introduced herself between her and Bow, and two women came out of the store, carrying a mountain of snacks. </p><p>“All ready!” Glimmer announced, stretching her arms like she was presenting the last trick of a magic show. </p><p>Adora, in turn, was quick to lower hers, and hoped that the mysterious woman hadn’t actually seen her waving at her. A glance back revealed that she had moved forward to help the other two carry their stuff. Adora rushed to get to the safety of their own car. Once inside she rested her head against the back of the front seat, cursing at herself. What had she been thinking? Who even did that kind of stuff? </p><p>“Did you really wave at her?” Bow asked when he sat back on the driver’s seat, because apparently he had decided that she deserved no pity tonight. </p><p>“Wave at whom? Is there someone we know here?” Glimmer paused halfway through the door and stood back up, looking around. </p><p>Adora threw herself to her side, pulling at Glimmer's clothes. “<em>Get back inside</em>,” she hissed. </p><p>She got a questioning look in reply, but Glimmer did, mercifully, sit down and close the door. </p><p>“What’s going on?” </p><p>“There’s a really pretty woman outside, and she caught me looking at her because SOMEONE couldn’t stop teasing me about it, and then I might have waved awkwardly at her.” </p><p>“Oof, that’s not great, you don’t know how to wave.” </p><p>“Excuse- I- That's- I know how to wave!” Adora sputtered. </p><p>“Oh babe, no, you do not.” </p><p>“Everyone knows how to wave!” </p><p>Glimmer twisted in her set, and leaned forward to pat Adora’s knee. “It’s ok, don’t worry. I’m sure she thought it was cute?” Adora had never heard her sound so unsure. </p><p>“I’m going to sleep,” Adora mumbled moodily. </p><p>She lowered her ponytail so she could rest her head fully against the seat and closed her eyes, willing herself to forget everything about beautiful strangers that might or might not think she waved weirdly. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've been nitpicking so many things about this, I might completely change the summary later. The title I've made myself swear I will never change after a fic is posted. I will try NOT to keep looking at this chapter, I'm leaving it in the hands of the universe and nitpicky readers that might want to keep pointing out mistakes. (But seriously, don't feel afraid to let me know if I screwed up somewhere else, at this point I trust NOTHING). I need to publicly announce this so it will help me keep myself accountable lol like seriously I've been rewriting this chapter for a week???? It's only 1.5k but I just,,, kept changing words here and there,,, splitting the paragraphs differently,, I need peace.</p><p>Anyway<br/>Me: I kinda hate it when people write Adora like she's dumb, like it's seriously one of my pet peeves<br/>Also me: So in this fic Adora can't wave and...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had to let a little more time pass between posting the first two chapters than I would've liked, but the good news is that I'm good to keep a nice posting schedule for the rest of the month (:</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite her best efforts, Adora was not asleep. It wasn’t surprising considering her sleeping issues which, when they were at their worst, were so severe she had proven immune to even the strongest of sleeping medication.  </p>
<p>She stayed like that, too exhausted to take part in the conversation happening at the front of the car, but too awake to engage in more than some lazy daydreaming. </p>
<p>If said daydreaming featured a very sharp smirk then well, that was no-one's business but her own. It wasn’t like she’d ever see her again anyway. A little fantasizing wouldn’t hurt her. It was just... wondering what could have happened if Glimmer had taken a couple more minutes in the bathroom, and the other women had had a passionate discussion about what drinks to get, giving the beautiful stranger enough time to notice Adora’s perfectly good wave. Yes, it hadn’t been her smoothest move but it had happened, so now she had to roll with that. But maybe it would’ve been good! </p>
<p>Maybe the stranger would’ve been charmed by her unparalleled waving skills, and she would have waved back. Now THAT would’ve made Bow shut up. Then the stranger would have upped her bet, signaling for Adora to get closer. Adora would’ve obliged, and they would have laughed about their weirdness, and she would have gotten to hear the stranger’s perfect voice, and her perfect laugh, and- </p>
<p>“Shit, I didn’t mean to wake you up, I’m sorry.” </p>
<p>Adora shook her head. “No, you didn’t, don’t worry.” She reached for the water bottle Glimmer was attempting to get and handed it to her. </p>
<p>Glimmer shot her a sympathetic look. “Not even after the day you’ve had?” </p>
<p>She chuckled, sitting up straighter. “I think it’s probably because of the day I've had, actually.” </p>
<p>The way Glimmer bit worriedly at her lip didn’t go unnoticed, but she didn’t make a comment. Adora knew what she was thinking anyway. Glimmer usually had no issue expressing herself on what she thought of her work hours. Adora wasn’t in the mood to have that conversation right now, so she appreciated the restraint. </p>
<p>“Well, that’s what we’re here for, aren’t we? Summer, vacation, the beach!” </p>
<p>At least her enthusiasm was contagious. “Yes! Relaxation! The sun! The sea!” </p>
<p>“That’s the spirit! And you know what’s the best thing about car rides?” Bow chimed up. </p>
<p>Glimmer turned in her seat. “Yes!!!!” she squealed, reaching forward to turn up the stereo. </p>
<p>“CAR KARAOKE!” they both shouted at the same time. </p>
<p>Adora laughed, shaking the last shreds of drowsiness from her head. She leaned forward as much as her seatbelt allowed, wanting to be closer to her friends. </p>
<p>“Por eso esperaba con la carita empapada a que llegaras con rosas,” Glimmer sang at the top of her lungs. Had she grabbed her phone specifically to use it as a make-believe microphone?</p>
<p>“Con mil rosas para mí,” Bow and Adora chorused.</p>
<p>As they kept singing about waiting for a love that had moved on and wouldn’t come back, Bow drove them into a parking lot next to the road. It was easy to recognize the building it led to. Erelandia was a popular stop, they offered great coffee and the best pastries around. </p>
<p>“I thought we weren’t stopping in Erelandia tonight?” asked Glimmer, turning the music down to normal levels.</p>
<p>“I need coffee,” Bow said. </p>
<p>He went out of the car, and they followed him. As he started walking, Glimmer was quick to share a confused look with Adora. She shrugged in reply. She was right, they had agreed to forgo their usual stop on accounts of it being late, and having had stopped at the gas station earlier. Glimmer went after Bow, who was already about to reach the building’s door, making her have to jog to catch up with him. </p>
<p>Adora didn’t rush. By the time she got to them they were waiting in line. </p>
<p>“-sure you’re ok?” Glimmer was saying. </p>
<p>“Glim, I just need some coffee, ok? Something warm,” Bow reassured her, half a laugh in his voice. “Do you want anything?” he asked Adora once she joined them. </p>
<p>“Since we’re here,” she said. A cup of coffee sounded like heaven at that moment. </p>
<p>“And croissants!” added Glimmer. </p>
<p>“Can’t pass up on Erelandia’s croissants!” </p>
<p>The place was nowhere near full, but it wasn’t deserted either. Three other groups had already claimed tables, and a woman was ordering in front of them. The seating area was huge, and once they got their food, they chose a place near one of the windows. </p>
<p>“How do you think they make coffee this good?” Bow asked after taking his first sip and letting out a long sound of appreciation. </p>
<p>“They add the blood of lost travelers?” Glimmer said at the same time Adora replied, “We just think it’s really good because we’re desperate for a half-decent cup of coffee at this point in the ride?” </p>
<p>“You,” Bow said, pointing to Adora, “are no fun. And you,” he directed his gaze at Glimmer, “have too much fun.” </p>
<p>“Objection, there’s no such thing as too much fun.” </p>
<p>The sound of the door opening distracted Adora from the consequent discussion about exactly what too much fun would constitute and if it could, in fact, be achieved. Tiredness was pulling at her again, and she knew she’d have trouble following along anyway. She raised her head from her cup and looked at the entrance. </p>
<p>Three women were walking in. The first one was tall, with short white hair and arms that looked like they could crush her with ease. The next one was shorter, though she was wearing two huge purple ponytails that made her look taller than she was. The third one was <em>her.</em> </p>
<p>Adora took a quick sip of her coffee, which was swiftly followed by a yelp of pain as she burned her whole tongue on it. </p>
<p>“Adora! Are you ok?” </p>
<p>Glimmer’s voice carried over the empty room, making Her look at their table, despite them being on the furthest corner of the café. Her eyes found Adora’s, and she smirked. The woman raised her hand in the air and, as Adora watched, she waved at her. </p>
<p>“Adora?” </p>
<p>“HolyshitBow,” Adora said, breathless, not daring take her eyes off the woman. </p>
<p>But with that, the stranger turned back to her companions, and Adora was forced to concentrate on hers. </p>
<p>“Bow,” she repeated, reaching across the table to paw at his arm. “Bow Bow Bow Bow.” </p>
<p>“Yes, Adora?” he asked patiently. </p>
<p>“She waved at me!!” she said, trying not to be loud. </p>
<p>That broke through his patient façade, and he leaned forward to whisper. “What, the girl from the gas station?? She’s here?” His back was to the door, and she never loved him more than when he didn’t automatically twist on his seat and look behind him. </p>
<p>“Yes!!” Adora said, then remembered she was supposed to keep her voice down. “She walked through the door, saw me, AND SHE WAVED. It wasn’t sarcastic or anything, I swear.” </p>
<p>Meanwhile, Glimmer had decided to take matters into her own hands, and was subtly staring at the women at the counter. Well, at least it was Glimmer’s version of subtle. </p>
<p>“Who is it? The one with the white hair?” </p>
<p>“...why? Because she looks strong?” </p>
<p>Glimmer looked back at her. “Yeah, it isn’t her then?” </p>
<p>Adora threw her hands in the air. “No, it’s not her! I'm sure she’s very lovely, but I do not only like buff women, I don’t understand where this even came from!” </p>
<p>There was a cough that sounded an awful lot like <em>Huntara </em>, and Adora seriously considered ditching her friends and continuing the trip on her own. They were all small groups, surely one must have had space for one more, right? Pity she didn’t doubt, who <em>wouldn’t</em> pity her situation with such mean, horrible friends. </p>
<p>“Whatever, who is it then? Purple girl?” </p>
<p>“No! The other one. Brown curly hair, red shirt,” she described, mostly so they would leave her alone. </p>
<p>“Oh, she’s hot.” </p>
<p>Bow laughed, and Adora let out an indignant cry. “Why is that surprising?” </p>
<p>She didn’t know what she was feeling offended about, but she was sure that was the correct reaction. Glimmer found the whole thing too amusing for Adora’s comfort. </p>
<p>“Nothing.” She kept her eyes on the other group. “It’s just... she has a very ‘bad girl’ look?” </p>
<p>“Yes, right! Thank you,” Bow interrupted. </p>
<p>Adora blinked. “I... don’t see it.” </p>
<p>“She’s wearing a <em>leather jacket,</em>” Glimmer said as if this was a sufficient explanation. </p>
<p>“Ok, so,” she tried to follow, “I can’t be attracted to ‘bad girls?” </p>
<p>“No, of course you can. I just didn’t imagine it’d be your type.” </p>
<p>Bow scratched his chin. “Maybe it’s a case of opposites attract?” </p>
<p>If she was being honest, Adora didn’t get it. Glimmer and Bow –well, most of her friends, really– liked to talk about types and stuff and Adora just...didn’t get it. She supposed it had something to do with her being asexual, or maybe with her being aromantic? It had to be one of the two. She was pretty sure she didn’t experience sexual attraction at all, and the romantic kind was rare. Between that, and the fact that she wasn’t the best at paying attention to her own emotions, attraction as a whole was a weird topic for her. </p>
<p>But she was perfectly capable of recognizing beauty by herself! It just meant she couldn’t really predict it; she didn’t have a specific set of parameters she knew would always catch her eye. </p>
<p>It was surprising, actually, that she would be so interested in a literal stranger, but she supposed it had something to do with the soft edge of her lips, and the way she had indulged Adora’s awkwardness and had even let her know it was all good. Not all people would have done that, Adora had learned. </p>
<p>“Well, it doesn’t matter, what matters is that she’s clearly into Adora!” </p>
<p>She laughed. “A wave means she’s clearly into me?” </p>
<p>But Glimmer agreed with him. “No, he’s right. You have an opening! What do you want to do? We can go order more croissants.” She waggled her eyebrows, a trick she had spent hours perfecting for situations like this. </p>
<p>“You only want more croissants! I’m not going there and embarrassing myself. Yes, she’s pretty, she replied to my dumb wave, it doesn’t mean she actually wants me to go and...” </p>
<p>“And...?” Bow prompted her. </p>
<p>“And hit on her?” </p>
<p>She wasn’t actually sure what her friends wanted her to do, less alone what she would <em>actually </em> do if she did try to approach the woman. Adora’s carefully curated list of social interactions did not include anything that could help her navigate this situation. </p>
<p>So no, Adora was going to enjoy the fact that a beautiful stranger had smiled at her, had been amused by her even, and then she was going to put this whole thing away. The only thing she’d regret was not getting to hear her voice, even after running into her twice in one night. </p>
<p>“Look, they’re leaving! They ordered to go. Are you sure you don’t want to talk to her?” </p>
<p>“It’s fine! But please sit down properly, if they see you watching them like that, I WILL die of embarrassment,” she threatened. </p>
<p>Glimmer crossed her arms and pouted, but she did what Adora had asked. “Ugh, fine. For the record, I think she did want you to go over there.”</p>
<p>“You didn’t even see her wave. For all you know, I might have imagined the whole thing.” </p>
<p>Despite her words, Adora did follow the group’s path to the door. The brunette held the door open for the other two and, right before crossing it herself, she looked back at Adora’s table. She brought her hand up to her mouth and blew Adora a kiss. </p>
<p>Heat crept up her shoulders and neck, and Adora was quick to duck her head. She could have sworn she heard a laugh come from the other side of the room. </p>
<p>She was right, it was perfect. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The song they sing is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYnLVWXmRm8">Rosas by La Oreja de Van Gogh.</a></p>
<p>I realized I don't exactly know what passes as summer music in other parts of the world? So I had to take the executive decision to just go with the music I'd listen to in those situations lol So if I need to incorporate lyrics like here, they'll probably be in Spanish, but I'll make sure you can understand from context what's being said/why it's important. Don't worry, I won't be including them every other chapter but you just can't convince me the best friend squad aren't the type of friends who spontaneously break into song the second they hear the opening notes to something they like.</p>
<p>I promise there will be Actual Interaction(tm) next chapter but for now I was having so much fun writing these three that I got a little carried away.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So a little more context for this fic is that I've actually been meaning to do a short, silly fic where two characters meet while they are on the road with their friends for a while now. For a while here meaning at least one fandom ago lol, so I was like "ok, maybe I can finally write this for catradora" but then I thought, I couldn't really go through all the trouble of writing a vacation au and not have an scene where the best friend squad has to go grocery shopping and they have the most bizarre discussions over what to get, and then I just kept coming up with things to include and well, here we are.</p><p>Apparently I am now the kind of person who copes with a global pandemic that left her locked up in her house for over eight months by writing her favorite characters having her perfect holiday?? I guess I could be doing much worse lmao</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I still can’t believe that you let the literal love of your life get away like that,” Glimmer said, shaking her head and going as far as dragging her feet as they walked back to their car.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you might be exaggerating just tiny bit there, Glim.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I literally never exaggerate.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora chuckled as she opened the door of the car. Glimmer hesitated with her hand on the handle.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you don’t want me to take over, Bow?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Bow paused too. “Yes, Glim, it’s fine, I like driving.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>A determined glint took over Glimmer’s eyes. “Right, you like it so much you had to stop for coffee because your hands were gripping the steering wheel.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora turned to look at Bow, who sighed in defeat. “Ok, you’re right, and I’m sorry I lied. I didn’t think it would be this bad. It’s been a few years since the last time I had to be on the road at night, and I didn’t expect this many cars.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s ok, but just, let me drive the rest of the way, ok? We’re almost there anyway, just two hours more to go.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But still, Bow hesitated. “Thanks Glim but... seriously, I prefer to do it myself. Please don’t take it the wrong way but I just feel safer when I’m the one behind the wheel.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer pursed her lips and got in the car without another word. Adora knew she wasn’t really mad; she’d rather take a blow at her pride than make Bow more anxious than he already was. Most of the times she wouldn’t even argue. Others, however, the word reckless just hit a little too close to home.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was Adora’s fault, really. They had had to delay their leaving because of her, and now she couldn’t even help. She was way too tired to drive, it wouldn’t be safe. She quietly sat down and fastened her seatbelt. Fun and relaxation were always too good to be true.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>To make matters worse, it started to rain. It wasn’t a big deal at first, but it quickly became evident that what had started as a couple of drops would turn into a downpour.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to stop,” Adora said when it looked like no-one else was going to introduce the thought.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“What if we stop and it only gets worse later? We have no idea when the sky is going to clear.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora is right, Bow. At least so I can drive the rest of the way, ok? You know I wouldn’t be careless. I'll get us there safe.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, Glim, but...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No buts, you stop at the next place you can, end of discussion.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Her tone was gentle, but firm. Adora agreed, and Bow knew she was right too. They were approaching the last section of the road, a narrow lane that didn’t even leave space next to it for an emergency stop. On top of that, one wouldn’t find any lampposts until they were almost reaching the city. They had never had any trouble going through it, but the truth was that it wasn’t the safest road, especially under such weather conditions.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>After a few scary encounters with a couple of impatient trucks, they finally found a gas station. By that point the rain was falling heavily from the sky, and everyone was anxious. They eyed the way they’d have to go from their car to the store. There was no avoiding getting soaked.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer sighed, pulling her jacket closed. “Ready?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>This was becoming the longest car trip in the history of forever, and Adora hadn’t thought of keeping a jacket on hand. It had been a hot day, followed by a hot evening. The storm had come out of nowhere.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready,” she replied, too tired to actually care about the water.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Bow had tried to pass his own jacket to her, claiming that she needed it more than him, but Adora knew that wasn’t true. He had been driving for hours, his anxiety was currently sky high, and the last thing she wanted to do was to make him feel any kind of uncomfortable. They ran inside. The cold water came as a shock, but it wasn’t as bad as Adora thought it’d be. It was actually nice to the coolness on her skin. There were worse things than a bit of rain.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They ordered coffee, which wasn’t even close in comfort to that of Erelandia’s, and sat down, having decided to wait for a bit before braving the storm again. According to their weather app, it should get better in less than an hour.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Their spirits were nowhere near what they had been during their first stop either. Adora didn’t really mind taking longer than they needed to. Sure, she was tired, and sleep would come much easier to her if she could lay down on a bed, but seven hours on the road wasn’t actually that bad. Glimmer and Bow had rested during the day, so a part of her thought that there shouldn’t be a reason for their bad mood now.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that was her own bad mood talking.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just saying, if you had just let me drive from the beginning, we would have already been there when the rain started.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora excused herself. The brief respite that she had felt when running under the rain was gone, and she could feel a headache coming in. She understood that Glimmer was probably just worried, but she didn’t need to make an argument out of this. What was done was done.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She took her coffee with her outside. They tried to stop her but the truth was that she felt more uncomfortable in her now damp clothes when standing inside. Their friction between her two friends wasn’t the only thing bothering her, the place had started to suffocate her. She stood by the door, resting against the wall in a place where the raindrops wouldn’t get to her. The clear air was easier on her than the harsh fluorescent lights.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, are you ok?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The loud splatter of the rain had covered the footsteps of the stranger approaching, but Adora wasn’t startled. When she turned towards the sound, she found brown curls and a worried frown.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Her eyes are different colors,</span></em> Adora thought to herself. She hadn’t been close enough to notice before.
  
</p><p>
  <span>She smiled. “Yes, thank you, I just needed some air.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s storming out here,” the woman said, a deadpan that clearly told Adora what she thought of her choice of scenery.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And there’s also fresh air.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t argue on that one with you, blondie. Couldn’t find a better place to hide from your friends?</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora looked at her with suspicion. “How do you know I’m hiding from them?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The woman shrugged. “Your friend isn’t very quiet. I recognized her from Erelandia, and when I saw an argument and didn’t find you around...” she trailed off, turning her face away from her.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh no, it got that bad?” Adora winced. Maybe she should have stayed inside, help calm the tides.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“She wasn’t yelling or anything, but she did look pissed. The other one didn’t look angry though, just kind of...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Accepting his fate and the pain that Etheria had chosen to bestow upon him?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>That made her chuckle. “I guess.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Adora twisted herself to look inside through the window closest to her. She had no trouble locating her friends. Whatever the woman had seen, however, it was already over. Glimmer and Bow were sitting, stony looks on each of their faces. They didn’t appear to be talking, that couldn’t be fun. Adora couldn’t help but groan. This was supposed to be a simple ride! How could things go so wrong?</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to go inside, do you think that makes me selfish?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Because apparently this was where her night had led her, to asking a woman she had never seen before questions on morality.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it makes you smart,” she started to say, but then reconsidered. “On a second thought,” she corrected as she openly stared at Adora up and down, “no, it’d probably be smarter of you to go inside. I seriously don’t understand how you aren’t freezing right now.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>It was in that moment that Adora became acutely aware of the state of her. It wasn’t only that her clothes were soggy, it was what she was wearing as well. She had put on her comfiest clothes to travel. That meant she had chosen some thin cotton shorts whose better days had long since passed by, and an oversized t-shirt with the words ‘HORSE GIRL’ in bold letters over the chest and a ridiculously sparkly winged unicorn underneath it. Besides the awkward way the fabric now clung to her body, the water had also stuck a few loose hairs to her forehead, which Adora hadn’t bothered to brush away. Her usually tidy ponytail was little more than a suggestion at the moment.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Etheria really hated her today.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.” Before Adora could say anything, the woman had shrugged off her leather jacket and put it over Adora’s shoulders. “Don’t tell me that’s not better.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora’s need to protest overrode whatever embarrassment she could feel at sharing such intimate moment with her. “Now you’ll get cold and I’ll get your jacket wet.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>But the woman wasn’t having it. “I’m too cool to get cold.” She flashed her a smirk that was actually a warm smile in disguise, and Adora couldn’t find it in her to fight it anymore.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure there’s an easy joke somewhere in there but I’m too tired to think of it.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The woman leaned more comfortably onto the wall behind them. “Long day then?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“The longest.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you guys need to be on the road much longer?</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>There was, of course, a little voice in her head that told her that sharing information about their traveling plans with someone she didn’t know wasn’t very smart, but Adora decided to ignore it. That little voice was full of shit more often than not, and Adora had spent years trying to actively stop it from ruining nice things for her.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to say no, but given that it’s already taken us almost half as long to get here...” The rain didn’t seem to be getting any better, and Adora was seriously starting to wonder what they were going to do. “We’re headed to Mystacor. You?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The smile on the stranger’s face grew larger. “Us too.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora couldn’t contain her excitement. “That’s great.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah? Why?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>In any other situation, Adora would’ve hesitated. But somehow, despite having only exchanged a couple of words with this person, there was no doubt in her mind that she wasn’t being made fun of, she was just being teased. She could work with that. </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, for a second I thought maybe we could hang out once we got there, but clearly you aren’t interested...”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She let the phrase fall, paying attention to her response. The woman –ok, it was started to get awkward to not know this stranger’s name, but asking right this very second felt awkward too– made a humming sound.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you were the one who wouldn’t be interested, seeing as you didn’t even give my kiss back.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora chocked on air. It was very noticeable. “Excuse me?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The woman shrugged. “I waved back at you, but you didn’t blow back a kiss. You didn’t even catch the one I sent you.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Recovered, Adora laughed. “Was I supposed to do that?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Her amusement made the woman look very pleased with herself. “No, it would have been taking it too far. I already pushed it with that but, I will admit, I wasn’t expecting to see you again.” She shrugged again. “I felt like being dramatic.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I get the feeling that’s something you do a lot.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“And I get the feeling you’re a huge dork.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The giggles that escaped her probably didn’t help Adora’s case at all. “I-,” she started. But then she realized that the rain was stopping. The storm was passing. They had to make a move now, in case it got worse later. “I have to go,” she lamented. Adora had to be bold, she wasn’t about to spend the rest of her vacation wondering if she’d ever see her again. “Can I have your number? And your name, please,” she hastily added after a second of thought.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She was quickly getting convinced this woman’s laughter was the best sound she had ever heard.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Catra.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Adora.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Catra dictated her number. When she was done, Adora read it back to her. She was known for messing up long numbers if she was distracted or tired, and she was <em>not</em> going to risk it.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She said goodbye to Catra and headed back inside. Her trip had ended up not having such a tragic start after all.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer and Bow were having a civil conversation by the time she made her way back to them. Looking around, Adora easily found Catra’s companions not too far away from their table. She decided to wait until they were back inside the car to tell them the news.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>According to their weather app, the rain could pick back up again any moment, but it was better to get started on the rest of their trip. Glimmer took the wheel this time, and Adora took over as her copilot. It was clear she wasn’t going to get some sleep any time soon, so she might as well make herself useful and let Bow rest.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>With everything going on, she almost forgot about her encounter outside the store. She couldn’t really be blamed; things were starting to get a little fuzzy around the edges. Sleep deprivation would do that to you. If she was being honest, however, she was holding out quite well. More often than not, when tiredness set on her like this, she would go all mushy and giggly.  A little like she’d get if she were drunk, but hopefully not as bad. Hopefully.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Until now, however, she seemed to have had skipped that step completely and instead had landed herself straight into ‘exhausted’ territory. Perhaps she was doing the inverse process tonight, because now she did feel a bit giddy. And loopy.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>That was probably why she missed the tense atmosphere inside the car and why, when she suddenly exclaimed “GUYS!”, she did it way louder than she needed to.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“FUCK,” Glimmer yelled, clearly startled. “Adora, what the fuck!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora sank a little on her seat, embarrassed. “Sorry! I just, I remembered something!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you please try to remember it <em>without</em> almost giving me a heart attack please?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She couldn’t really feel bad when she was this excited.  “Ok, yes, I’m sorry, but listen!!! I got the girl’s number!!!!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer’s attitude was completely transformed, and Bow perked up from where he was quietly staring out the window.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You did?!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I so did!” Adora confirmed, a huge grin on her face.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She told them about their conversation outside, and how Catra was also headed to Mystacor like them.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“We HAVE to find out which beach they go to,” Bow said, and Adora would have bet anything that he already making plans for a group hang.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, I think Adora was actually right.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ha! Of course I was! ...about what exactly?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer threw her a sideways glance before her focus went back to the road ahead. “She doesn’t sound like an actual bad girl.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, c’mon Glim, ‘bad boy who’s only soft for the quirky protagonist’ is the most common conception of the trope!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. “I’m a quirky protagonist now?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer reached blindly to pat her in the thigh. “I’m sure in your own story you must be.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She batted her friend’s hand away. “You’re so mean! You’re lucky you’re driving right now.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh like you’d ever hurt me.” The fact that Glimmer wasn’t at <em>all</em> concerned did hurt Adora’s pride a little. She was really strong! She took a bunch of self-defense classes! She was trained in <em>several</em> martial arts!</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Wanna try me, Moon?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Still not taking her eyes off the road, Glimmer didn’t hesitate to reply, “Bring it on, Greyskull!”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s enough! No fighting in the car!” Bow’s panic was only 95% manufactured, so Adora just laughed and dropped it.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t over,” she couldn’t resist but add.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok, but have you texted her yet?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Adora hesitated. “Isn’t that too soon?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you give her your number?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I said I’d text her.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Then you have an excuse! You send a quick hello so she can add you and, if she wants to keep the conversation going, she will and if she doesn’t then it’s all good.”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok,” she said, and she really hoped Bow could tell how much she appreciated his help in something that was probably very obvious to everyone but herself, “but did you forget the part about us being in the middle of nowhere and having zero reception?”</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Noooooo! Curse you, empty roads!” Bow said, with as much emotion as if he was the one who was unable to text the cute girl he had just met. He was probably shaking his fist at the sky, judging by his tone.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Truth to be told, Adora felt like cursing the empty roads too. She wanted to text a pretty girl, damn it! This was the definition of homophobia. She had been ok with waiting for a while when she thought that was what was expected of her, but now that she had been given permission to act? Now waiting felt like torture.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She clutched the phone in her hand, staring at the screen, waiting for those damned lines to appear. She didn’t allow herself to be consumed by it though, she was Glimmer’s copilot and she had to pay attention to the road too. Despite having been told to rest, Bow kept himself awake and talked to Adora.</span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Glimmer stayed silent, her sole focus on the road, except for the occasional request for candy. Adora dutifully took them out of the wrapper and deposited them on her hand at uneventful moments. The road was, fortunately, quite empty, and the rain stayed away for what was left of their ride.</span>
  
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've never written an au where Adora and Catra didn't grow up together (except for the <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/21501655">ducks au</a> if you want to count that one 😂) and while my need for realistic dialogue had me searching for the perfect line between two strangers trying to get a sense of each other and easy chemistry, a part of me feels like it came out too boring and not at all what people want to read and etc etc etc. Hopefully that part of me is completely wrong lmao</p><p>I know you're not supposed to criticize your own work because it turns readers off but just... idk I used to not be able to write author's notes, or reply to comments (I still have trouble with that one), or even post fics, because I got too anxious. But now I enjoy doing all those things! So this is like, me stubbornly refusing to give into the urge to delete all this text and pretend that There Are No Feelings Here. There are feelings. They feel embarrassing. We deal with them anyway.</p><p>Anyway, Adora finally got Catra's number, it should all be smooth sailing from here, right? Right?????<br/>(;</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It wasn’t until they reached the big, colorful sign welcoming them to Mystacor that she remembered to check her phone. There were no new messages, but there, at the top of her screen she could see those blessed three bars. She pulled up her messaging app. </p><p>As Glimmer and Bow cheered while they entered the city, Adora’s heart froze in her chest. Smiling on the contact picture was a person who was <em>definitely</em> not the one she had met numerous times throughout the night. </p><p>“I’m so glad aunt Casta insisted on stopping by and prepping the apartment for us,” Glimmer said. “I can<em>not</em> deal with making a bed right now. No offense, Adora, but that’s not my idea of a fun Friday night.” When Adora didn’t reply to the jab, she glanced at her. “What’s wrong?” </p><p>Adora grimaced. It was silly to get upset by this, right? It wasn’t like she knew the woman. Or like it would have gone anywhere in the end. Adora just wasn’t cut out for romantic relationships. She would never be what the other person needed, she knew this. It was better this way. </p><p>But that didn’t mean it wasn’t completely embarrassing to have to tell her friends that she had been given a fake number. Especially after how excited about this she had been earlier. </p><p>“Yeah, it’s fine! Everything is fine! So, those beds, huh? Can’t wait to be in one, am I right?” </p><p>The glare Glimmer sent her way was short but tremendously effective. It clearly said <em>tell me what the fuck is wrong or I’ll park this car right here right now.</em> </p><p>“Ugh, it’s really nothing! Just...it’s not her number,” she mumbled, fidgeting with the seatbelt. </p><p>“What do you mean it’s not her number?” </p><p>“That it’s not her number! I opened the app and her contact picture is not her.” </p><p>Bow extended his hand. “Give me.” She sighed, but let him have her phone. He was silent for a few seconds, and Adora knew he was trying to piece together some kind of explanation for why the person on the screen was someone that didn't have brown curly hair, multi-colored eyes, or didn’t generally share any kind of resemblance with the person they had seen back at the gas station. “Ok, yeah, you’re might. But maybe...it’s her...friend?? And she has their phone because of...reasons?” </p><p>Adora didn’t reply. She didn’t want them to know how much this was affecting her. It was her own fault, for getting carried away by her fantasies. The fact that she had now been awake for around 22 hours wasn’t helping either. So this was why her therapist was so insistent on consistent sleeping schedules. </p><p>“Adora, are you sure you didn’t switch the sevens for nines?” Glimmer suggested kindly. </p><p>“Yes! I was very careful! I even read it back to her!” Her voice had, predictably, gone up a couple octaves, but at least it wasn’t breaking, so she had to count it as a win. </p><p>The silence stretched uncomfortably between them. Adora kept her eyes firmly on the streets in front of them. </p><p>“I’m sure she made some kind of mistake.” </p><p>Adora bit her lip. She quickly exited the app. She knew she should’ve deleted the number then, having to do it later would only make her feel bad about this again for a second time, but she didn't.  “A mistake. Sure.” </p><p>No one said anything else about it as they finally made it to the apartment, or as they made a half-hearted attempt at making sandwiches for dinner. Finally, they said goodnight, and Adora could throw herself into bed. She shut her eyes tightly. She made herself ease the tension in her body. She counted her breaths. Eventually, she fell asleep.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Are you seriously going to stand there and argue about tuna for the rest of the morning?” </p><p>Glimmer crossed her arms. “Maybe.” </p><p>“I’m telling you this is the one we always get. I know because I’m the one who usually eats it,” Adora tried to reason with her. </p><p>“You’re the one who usually eats it because that kind is gross, and I want it nowhere near my plate.” </p><p>Bow sighed. “What if, hear me out, we don’t get tuna.” </p><p>“Pfff, we can’t just not get tuna. What are we going to replace it?” </p><p>He hesitated. “Some other fish?” </p><p>“Ok, whatever, get Glimmer’s yucky tuna and we’ll just make it work I guess.” </p><p>Glimmer didn’t even wait for her to turn around before she was pumping her fist in the air. Honestly, it was ridiculous how much time this was taking them. Glimmer and her shared an apartment! Bow was over like every other night! Groceries were always a shared affair! </p><p>It was true, however, that money would be a bit scarcer this month. Between Bow only being able to work part-time while he completed his masters, and Glimmer having quitted her job at her family’s practice, Adora was the only one with a reliable source of income at the moment. The only reason they could make the trip at all was that Castaspella’s old apartment was always available for them. There was no way they would’ve been able to afford renting out a place otherwise. They had a bit saved, of course, but they had to budget in things like outings and drinks and churros. So many churros. </p><p>They had discussed it and were ok with it, it was the price they had to pay for two weeks of summer vacation. That meant, unfortunately, that some compromises had to be made. </p><p>“Do we really have to buy this shitty conditioner? You <em>know</em> what it does to my hair.” </p><p>This was a fight Adora saw coming, and she had had time to prepare herself accordingly. “Listen, you’re the one who doesn’t allow me to bring my own hair products here-” </p><p>“Because it’s bad luck!” Glimmer whined. </p><p>“Glimmer they burst open inside your suitcase <em>once.</em> That’s not bad luck. That’s <em>your</em> bad for not carrying them on a separate container like I’ve always told you.” </p><p>But Glimmer had come prepared too. She raised her hand in between them, one finger up. “First year your hair got stuck on that popcorn machine.” She put a second finger up.  “Second year I cut my foot on the sea. Third year, the-” she cast her eyes down, mournful, “suitcase catastrophe. And tell me, what calamity struck us on the fourth year, Adora?” </p><p>She crossed her arms. “None did.” </p><p>“Right, because I made us leave any and all hair products at home. And then, on the fifth one, when you insisted I was being paranoid, what happened?” </p><p>Her mouth was set on a straight line. “A wave dislocated my shoulder.”  </p><p>“And how many major accidents have we had since I forbid us from ever bringing our own stuff to the beach?” </p><p>“Zero.” </p><p>Smiling like it was settled, Glimmer was ready to grab what she needed to perform her usual hair care routine and move on. </p><p>“Ok, but that still doesn’t make up for you spending that much money on hair care that you’re only going to leave behind!” Because, of course, Glimmer wasn’t willing to risk the Conditioner Curse following them all the way back to the city. </p><p>Glimmer’s smile dimmed. She looked at the price tags, then to the general direction of the front door, and Adora seriously wondered if this was what finally pushed her friend into a life of petty crime. She had always thought trespassing would be involved. </p><p>“What if I used my emergency credit card for this?” Glimmer’s hands twitched like they wanted to come together in a pleading gesture. “I would be able to pay my mom back next month, it’s not that big a deal.” </p><p>Adora put her hands on her shoulders. “You don’t want to do that, Glim. You’re trying to break away from your parent’s help, remember?” </p><p>Her friend sighed. Then groaned. Then sent a murderous glance towards the products in question. Adora felt a bit bad, if she was being honest. She knew taking care of her hair was one of Glimmer’s grounding rituals. It wasn’t just because she wanted it to look nice, the act itself brought her peace. And she needed it right now. </p><p>After almost a year of fears and anxiousness and generally just feeling like shit, Glimmer had finally admitted to herself that medicine wasn’t really her thing. Following on her parents’ footsteps had seen like the logical step to her after finishing high school, but it had quickly become evident that it just wasn’t the best career for her. She hadn’t liked the thought one bit, however, and so she had kept pushing at it, making herself more and more miserable as the years went on. </p><p>It wasn’t even Angella’s fault. Glimmer had decided on it all by herself, and Adora had never seen her mother push her to make choices she wasn’t comfortable with. Angella had just worked with what her daughter had given her, and encouraged what she thought would make her happy. Even after Glimmer had come clean about her intentions to drop out of med school, and after they had finally had an honest talk with each other, Adora knew Glimmer still felt guilty about disappointing mother. </p><p>And then, because Glimmer didn’t know how to half-ass anything, she had given up on helping out at their medical practice too. It had only been administrative work, but she had argued that it didn’t really make sense for her to be in that environment anymore, and it wasn’t like they couldn’t afford to pay for someone to take over her responsibilities. Her friends knew the truth. Glimmer had always valued her independence, and it had suddenly been revealed to her that she had never been truly independent, she had never actually acted without being under her parents’ protection. </p><p>It hadn’t been an easy couple of months, but she had managed. Her savings were good enough to support her for now, but she didn’t know when another job would appear, so she had to be careful with money until then. She had decided to give herself six months to figure out what she want to do with her life. And it all started with these two weeks at the beach. </p><p>“You’re right, I must stay strong. I guess...” she said slowly, dragging her feet to the other side of the aisle. “This means...we should take this.” </p><p>Adora nodded, and watched as Glimmer swallowed before adding generic brands of hair care products to their basket. She felt guilty. Adora could have paid for them, she knew. Glimmer could’ve given her the money back later, or she could’ve just made it pass as a late birthday gift. But it would completely wasteful to buy three different hair products that no one was going to use. Plus, they had already been through this many times before. While in Mystacor, Glimmer was usually either too tired from the day’s activities, or too excited about the things they could do next to spend much time on the shower. And yeah, her hair might suffer for a few days, but sit would quickly go back to normal after she resumed her usual routine. </p><p>“You guys are set already?” Bow asked in surprise, as if it hadn’t taken them ten minutes to settle what shampoo they should get. He had had time to get meat, cheese, and butter in the meantime. </p><p>“I still can’t believe you let Bow bring whatever he wants but I can’t even bring my own stuff. I switched to solid conditioner! There’s no way it’ll spill that way! And we travel by car! You could just put your stuff in a paper bag on the trunk if you’re that worried about it!” </p><p>But Glimmer paid her no mind. “Don’t be ridiculous, Adora, the Conditioner Curse thrives on technicality. You’d only manage it to anger it that way.” </p><p>She was only half sure Glimmer was joking. </p><p>For his part, Bow was nodding along. “And I’m not affected by the curse, as we have witnessed on previous years. Plus,” he said, a grin on his face that revealed exactly how much he privately enjoyed this particular bout of yearly nonsense, “I spend too much time taking care of my hair to let the beach screw it up.” </p><p>A sound of indignation rose on Adora’s throat, but she forced herself to bite it down. The rest of the shopping went on smoother notes, but still, it seemed to take ages. By the time they were picking up the produce, Adora was ready to eat her own arm. Why did they always do this? Going grocery shopping before noon was always a mistake. </p><p>She was full-on fantasizing about biting into one of the perfect red apples they were picking when a flash of purple caught her eye. Adora wasn’t proud of her next move, but she couldn’t deny it was effective. One second she was standing there, casually discussing how many bananas they should get, the next one she was crouching on the floor, completely hidden by the fruit stand. </p><p>“Um, Adora...?”  </p><p>“Yes?” she asked, looking up, feigning nonchalance. </p><p>“Are you ok or...?” </p><p>As a matter of fact, however, Adora wasn’t ok. She wasn’t because she realized that she wasn’t the only person here that could be recognized. </p><p>“I’m fine! I’m good! Perfect even. You know what you should do? You guys should come down here!! So you’ll see how well I am!” </p><p>Bow and Glimmer exchanged a glance, but they both got down to her level. </p><p>“Did you get any sleep last night? Are you about to pass out from exhaustion again?” </p><p>“That only happened once!” Or was it twice? She didn’t actually remember. Ok, maybe it was three times. “Yes, I did, it’s not that. I just...wanted to be here. Closer to the floor. It’s so comfortable, don’t you think?” </p><p>Glimmer frowned. “You mean this dirty floor that’s walked on by hundreds of people every day?” </p><p>“The very same one!” </p><p>Having exhausted her patience, Glimmer made a move to get up again, but Adora yanked her back down. “Ok, wait, seriously. I saw one of her friends. Catra’s,” she clarified, “if that’s really her name, I guess. The purple one. I just. I don’t want her to see me. It’d be weird.” </p><p>“Weirder than the three of us huddling together on the floor?” </p><p>Adora bit her lip. “Well, she doesn’t know that this is happening, right?” </p><p>Her friends exchanged one of their patented Looks, but they didn’t make things harder on Adora. They gave her a quick nod, then they got up. She stayed crouching until they gave her the all-clear. </p><p>“Purple went to the cereal aisle, I’m pretty sure I saw the other woman too. How about we go that way, and you stay on this side of the store and get the drinks?” </p><p>Adora nodded, glad to have a battle plan. “Meet you at the front?” </p><p>“Keep your phone close, I’ll text you if I see any of them heading your direction.” </p><p>Was this entirely too much? An exaggeration? No-doubts, completely ridiculous behavior? Of course. But Adora was hungry, and her headache was threatening to come back, and the last thing she wanted was to face any kind of humiliation, even if she was the one shaming herself. So she watched her friends go, and she took the cart, and she carefully navigated the aisles, looking out for any and all signs that could suggest that Catra was close. </p><p>Which was probably why she recognized her voice as she was loading bottles onto her cart. It was probably funny, the way Adora froze in place. It didn’t feel funny, though. She looked around, but didn’t see her anywhere. She was probably on the aisle parallel to hers. That was ok, she could handle that. </p><p>But then she saw the nose of a cart turning on the corner, and she found herself dropping to the floor for the second time that morning. She kept her head firmly down, pretending to be tying up her shoes, with her own cart hiding her from anyone that might walk in from that side of the corridor. No-one did, however, and after a few seconds she risked sending a quick glance that way. Finding only the back of a couple of elderly women, she sighed in relief as she got up. </p><p>“You know you don’t have to hide from me, right?” a voice to her left said, making Adora jump back, almost throwing herself into her own cart. </p><p>She couldn’t stop one of her arms from coming forward, ready to deal with any attacks, but, of course, there weren’t any. The only thing in front of her was a very amused Catra who, despite having sneaked up on Adora before talking, was now keeping a respectful distance between the two of them. Adora was relieved, the last thing she needed was to put the strange woman into a headlock by mistake. </p><p>“Me? Hiding? Of course not, I would never. I literally never hide,” Adora said, inwardly cringing at every word that came out of her mouth, yet unable to stop them. She had been startled! She was allowed a little flustering. “Also I swear I’m not following you. I literally never stalk people either,” she added, because apparently she just wanted to go ahead and shoot herself in the foot as many times as possible today. </p><p>Could she flee? Could she leave her life behind and start over somewhere else? Sure, she would miss Bow and Glimmer, and Swifty and Bright Moon. But sacrifices had to be made. It was ok, she was ready. </p><p>Catra’s smirk, Adora was quickly learning, was a permanent fixture on her face. “I feel like that’s precisely the kind of thing someone who stalks people would say.” Her expression softened, and Adora could swear she almost looked...shy? “But I'm serious, you don't have to hide. It’s fine if you changed your mind.”  </p><p>“Well I<em>wouldn’t</em> know what someone who stalks people would say, since I’m not-” Adora started to mumble, but then what Catra had said caught up with her. “Wait, changed my mind?” </p><p>“Yeah, I mean, you asked for my number but it’s ok if you didn’t want to message me after all. I understand.” </p><p>Was she teasing her again? In any case, Adora didn’t really appreciate it. It was ok if she hadn’t known how to refuse giving Adora her number and had had to pretend, but this was taking it a little too far. </p><p>She crossed her arms, leaning against her cart for support. “Listen it’s cool or whatever if you didn’t want me to text you, but you don’t have to be mean about it.” </p><p>Catra blinked quickly, clearly taken aback by her tone. She put up her arms in a placating gesture. “Dude, I’m seriously telling you it’s fine. Like, did I wonder for a second what it would be like if maybe I had met my soulmate or whatever at a crappy gas station? Yeah, of course, because amatonormativity is a bitch, but I’m happy to keep working on bettering myself every day.” </p><p>If she was being honest, Adora didn’t exactly know what a “turn on” was, but she was pretty sure it had to be similar to the way her heart reacted when she heard Catra casually use the word amatonormativity in a sentence. </p><p>But no, she had to focus, that wasn’t what was important here. </p><p>“Wait, why would <em>I </em>not want to message <em>you</em>? You’re the one who gave me a fake number.” </p><p>“I- what? No, I didn’t.” </p><p>“Yes, you did.” </p><p>“Adora, I’m pretty sure I didn’t.” </p><p>If anything, Catra’s confusion seemed genuine. “Ok, then why,” Adora said, taking out her phone, “did I get this as a contact?” she said, showing her the picture of the person who clearly wasn’t Catra. </p><p>“Show me the number?” She looked at it as Adora pulled it up. “Yeah, mine ends in 9, not 7.” </p><p>Ok, now she was <em>really</em> going to move out of Bright Moon. Maybe she’d even have to move out of <em>Etheria.</em> </p><p>“Ok so, I’ll just... go die of embarrassment now, but it was nice meeting you!” she said, starting to walk away. She would leave the cart behind, it made for a shitty getaway vehicle. Everything on it could be savaged, Adora’s dignity couldn’t. </p><p>Catra laughed –that beautiful, perfect laugh– and reached for her. She grabbed Adora by the wrist, effectively stopping her escape attempt. </p><p>“You’re ridiculous. It's fine!” Still embarrassed, Adora turned to face her again. “Though I wonder how you managed to get it wrong when you even read it back to me and it was fine then.” </p><p>“I... sometimes do that,” she mumbled, trying not to think about how red she must’ve been at the moment. “Switch the nines and sevens. Both writing them down and reading them.” </p><p>To her surprise, Catra nodded in understanding. “It’s harder to catch when you’re tired?” </p><p>“I-. Yes.” Adora was a bit stunned. She guessed she wasn’t actually confessing to anything too abnormal, but the way Catra had just got it, this weird little thing Adora did, it was... nice. </p><p>Completely unaware of the havoc she was breaking on Adora’s emotions, Catra nudged her. “Good thing you were totally stalking me on this supermarket then.” </p><p>“Pfff, right, I was the one stalking you? Remind me, who was watching who? Did you forget the part where you literally sneaked up on me?” </p><p>Catra waved her words away. “Don’t worry, princess, I won’t press charges... for a price, of course.” </p><p>Adora’s lips twitched at the nickname, but she let it slide. “So we’re at extorsion now?” </p><p>“You take me out for churros, and we’re even. Deal?” </p><p>And well, Adora couldn’t just say no to an offer like that, now could she? </p><p>“Deal.” </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I swear this fic won't just be the equivalent of a one hour compilation of Adora's most awkward moments but I can't promise it won't reach at least the 45 minute mark.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After getting teased a little more about her mix-up, and, most importantly, after Catra had made sure Adora had fixed her contact and texted her, they walked together towards the front of the store. She couldn’t help but chuckle at Glimmer’s text: <em>just saw them waiting in line, Catra doesn’t seem to be around.</em> </span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>She spotted Bow and waved him over as she guided her cart towards the shortest line. The store was actually kind of full, lots of people had chosen that day to stock up on food. Wherever Catra’s friends had been, they seemed to be gone now.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The second Glimmer’s eyes fixated on the person next to her, Adora knew the day still had more embarrassment in store for her. An unlimited supply, it seemed. But, as it was, she was powerless to stop it.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing here?” Glimmer said, marching up to Catra, who cut herself off in the middle of a sentence to look at her.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m shopping? Why, Sparkles, what kind of activities do <em>you</em> get up to at supermarkets?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, <em>I</em> certainly don’t go up to women I’ve <em>led on</em> and-” </span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“GLIMMER,” Adora cut in, panicking. She realized she probably should’ve opened up her mouth sooner, but she had been kind of blindsided by how terribly the conversation had spiraled out of control in just a few seconds. “Catra didn’t– I–” she struggled to phrase an explanation that didn’t land her into even more trouble. “I SWITCHED THE NINES AND SEVENS!” she ended up half-yelling.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Had Glimmer seriously accused Catra of leading Adora on of all things?? She <em>knew</em> how Adora felt about that particular turn of phrase. Maybe Adora would have to leave Etheria after murdering her best friend. Maybe this had been her destiny all along.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow took a step forward, partially hiding Glimmer from them. Did he do it to save her from Adora’s glare? Or Catra’s? In any case, he patted Adora’s shoulder, nodding.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were really tired last night.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me about it,” Adora attempted a light tone, not wanting to escalate things further.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve made sure she got it right this time,” Catra said, following her lead. Instead of placating her, however, the words only managed to deepen Glimmer’s frown.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The line moved, and Adora pushed the cart forward.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s great!” Bow said.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is!”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>An awkward silence fell over them. Catra didn’t seem to want to leave just yet, which Adora appreciated, she wouldn’t want this meeting to end in such a low note. But the friendly banter they had maintained just a few minutes ago had disappeared, frozen in place by the icy stare Glimmer kept sending Catra’s way.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their cart made it to the front and they started unloading their things. Few words were exchanged as they paid and bagged them. Finally, they stood outside the store, facing the parking lot. Adora kept trying to signal to her friends that they should go ahead and start making their way towards the car, but they didn’t move from her side.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I guess I’ll see you around?” Adora wanted to scream at how uncomfortable she sounded. She supposed it made sense, since she <em>was</em> feeling really uncomfortable, but <em>still.</em></span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You bet. You owe me churros, after all.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>A genuine smile appeared at Catra’s words and easy tone. “Of course, we’ll-”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There you are, Wildcat! We were wondering where you had wandered of.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>The tall woman Adora had seen at Erelandia had come up to them, and she swiftly enveloped Catra in a crushing hug.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is the hug really necessary, Scorp?,” Catra complained, but there was a trace of laughter in her voice.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You said greeting hugs are allowed.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You saw me twenty minutes ago,” Catra deadpanned.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And they felt like an eternity. Oh, and who’s this?” Her friend said, apparently just noticing that Catra was in fact accompanied by other three whole people. “Wait, is this her? The cute girl you saw on our way here?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora turned to look at her, a smirk of her own curling up her lips. “Cute, huh?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shut up,” Catra hissed, and were her cheeks darkening?</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was nothing like Adora’s own deep red blush, but she could swear there was some color appearing there. Adora had to fight to keep her smug smile in place, as it was being threatened by the inexorable need to giggle because <em>Catra had called her cute to her friends and Adora had made her blush.</em></span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I didn’t say anything,” she teased.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra kept talking, ignoring both Adora and her friend’s question. “This is Adora, and these are... Glitter? And I’ll have to go ahead and guess your name is Crop Top,” she said looking at Bow.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glimmer spluttered, heat rising on her cheeks for completely different reasons.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, you’re right, we didn’t even introduce ourselves! That’s so rude,” Bow hurried to say, and Adora knew that he meant it. “I’m Bow, nice to meet you,” he addressed both of them, “and this is Glimmer.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>How are </span></em>we<em> the rude ones,</em> Adora heard Glimmer mumble, but she did put on a smile for Catra’s friend's sake.
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, Bow, Glimmer, Adora!” she put up her hand to wave at them. Adora didn’t feel jealous of people’s energy often, but she wouldn’t say no to a jar of whatever kept this woman chipper even in the face of Glimmer and Catra's weird little conflict. “I’m Scorpia, Catra’s best friend. I have to say, it’s not often she wanders off to make friends on her own! Or, ever. No, this has never happened before.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Begging to the stars that no-one but her could hear Glimmer’s muttered <em>I bet</em> and <em>who said I was </em>her<em> friend, Adora laughed.</em></span><em>
  
</em></p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s the nerd?” Catra asked.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Entrapta? She was finishing loading up the truck while I went looking for you. She- Oh! There she is!” Scorpia stood on her tiptoes and waved both arms in the air. “Entrapta, over here!”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In all fairness, it took a second for the woman to notice Scorpia and thus, the rest of them. They all turned to look in the direction Scorpia was calling, and Adora heard a faint curse come from Bow of all people. She half convinced herself she had to had misheard, except that she was sure she hadn’t, because, when she looked at him, she could recognize panic in his eyes.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was... a very strange development.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she could think any more about it, Entrapta had reached them, and introductions were being repeated. Adora took note of the rigid way Bow said his name, but couldn’t find any reaction on Entrapta’s side. She shot Glimmer a glance, but she was too busy still garnering animosity towards Catra to pay attention to anything else. Well, one problem at the time, she guessed.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it was great meeting you guys,” Adora started, hoping that a quick exist would stop any other mishaps from happening, “but we really should get going, gotta keep the cold chain and all that.” </span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, the cold chain,” Glimmer agreed.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Catra chuckled in a way that suggested she knew exactly what Adora was doing. “Ok, but I’ll see you soon?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora thought she might actually melt at the hopefulness in her voice.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course, we-”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, no,” Glimmer interrupted, which– </span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What?</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Adora asked</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean,” Glimmer’s whole stance changed, instantly becoming more open, “that we should all hang out! At the beach! The six of us!”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Was Glimmer suffering from a heat stroke? They hadn’t been standing under the sun that long, but that had to be what was happening.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Scorpia brought her hands together, not actually clapping them. “We’d love that!”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Great! Adora will text you the details, ok, bye!”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glimmer managed to push both Bow and Adora, plus their cart, towards the car. In any other circumstances Adora would’ve been impressed by such feat, but right now all she could think about was–</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What the fuck?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Glimmer was too focused on waving back at Scorpia to reply.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Seriously, Glim, what was that? It was...” Bow struggled to come up with a diplomatic descriptor. “Anticlimactic,” he finally settled on.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huffing, Glimmer opened up the trunk and started unloading their bags. “Well, we can’t let Adora just meet up with a stranger like that.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I... what?” she repeated, “you don’t want me to go out with Catra?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t even know the woman! She could be an axe murderer for all we know!”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There were so many emotions bubbling up on Adora’s chest that it was hard to figure them out. But the main one, she could tell, was plain disbelief.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re worried she’ll...murder me?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glimmer shooed her out of her way, and Adora belatedly realized she was doing nothing to help with the heavier bags. The conversation deserved her undivided attention, however, if Glimmer was so set on making as little sense as possible.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was being hyperbolic! But you really never know! You can’t just... go out with people you meet at gas stations. And we’ve ran into her what, four times already? It’s creepy, that’s what it is. What if they’ve been following us around this whole time?”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now that felt like a reasoning that would make Adora’s anxiety proud. Not knowing how to even begin to answer that, he looked at Bow for support.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Glim, don’t you think you’re being a bit...” he trailed off, once again failing to come up with the right word.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Preposterous? Irrational?” Adora suggested.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow sent her A Look as he handed Glimmer the last of their stuff. “Too cautious? We don’t really <em>need to</em> get to know all of them.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I’m not. I’m just taking care of Adora.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let me get this straight: you guys are always telling me about how I should get out more! And how oh you have this friend who’d love to meet me! And how I need to put myself out there! And now that I ACTUALLY want to go out and meet someone, she’s an axe murderer? You were literally calling her the love of my life a couple of hours ago.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slightly pushing herself up on her toes, Glimmer reached for the hatch. “The key word there was <em>friend.</em> We would never set you up with people we don’t know. And this is someone we don’t know, so <em>excuse</em> me for being worried.”</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I don’t excuse you,” Adora said, crossing her arms. It didn’t escape her that Glimmer hadn’t addressed the ‘love of her life’ comment. </span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bow, sensing danger, threw a quick, <em>“I’ll go take back the cart be right back,” </em>over his shoulder before promptly leaving them alone.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Glimmer didn’t even acknowledge Adora’s anger. She slid gracefully onto the driver’s seat, leaving Adora to clamber moodily into the back. She stayed silent until Bow came back and took his place on the passenger seat without a word of protest.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not done talking about this,” she warned.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At least Glimmer had enough self-preservation not to answer back.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adora pulled out her phone, and found a text from Catra already waiting for her.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Seriously what was her problem?</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She really didn’t want her vacation to start like this. She was having a good day! She had found Catra! They had resolved their little miscommunication! Their conversation had flowed easily and painlessly, something unheard of with Adora’s levels of social awkwardness, at least on such a short acquaintance. Her friends had been so happy for her last night, what had changed?</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But still, she really didn’t want to fight with Glimmer, so she forced herself to sigh and let it go.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For now, at least.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m so sorry, I really don’t know. She started talking about</span></em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span> you secretly being a serial killer? I’ve never seen her get</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>like this, I have no idea what is happening.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The sound of her nails against her phone’s glass comforted her a little as she waited for a reply.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Don't stress abt it princess. Not your fault.
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By now, Adora was fully aware that she had issues taking responsibility for stuff that was completely out of her control. That had been the topic of many, <em>many</em> therapy sessions before. Still, having it spelled out for her would never not be extremely relieving.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It’s too late now, tho. Scorpia’s already excited.
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The truth was, she couldn’t really be upset about it, right? She would be spending time with Catra, after all. And Scorpia and Entrapta seemed nice for all the thirty seconds she had known them. It was Glimmer’s weird attitude that had set her off, but it wasn’t like she was about to complain because of getting to see Catra. Their actual date could wait. Adora had never been great at those anyway, she could use a little warm up.</span>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em></em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I purposely didn’t give myself a fixed schedule to update this fic because I knew I’d be upset if I couldn’t hold myself to it. Guess who’s still upset she couldn’t update in two weeks? I was hoping this would be mostly done before my summer officially ended tomorrow but oh well, I’ll manage. It's not like school hasn’t tried to screw me over before lol </p>
<p>Anyway! I know most people like the “Adora is a menace on text” headcanon but for this AU I’m going with the fun “I need to be perfectly understood at all times or I’ll DIE” feeling for her (: And Catra just,, does whatever she wants. </p>
<p>We’re finally switching to Catra’s pov next chapter, and it looks like it’ll be a longer (for this fic’s standards) one, but I’m still not sure how much. Cross your fingers my first week of classes won’t suck all the will to live out of me?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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